How Turnovers Flipped Spurs vs Knicks In Game 3

We break down Spurs vs Knicks Game 3 and why the Spurs finally grabbed control by protecting the ball and executing late. We also dig into what New York’s uneven quarter-to-quarter performance says about Game 4, including who needs to step up fast. 
• Wembanyama’s near-perfect impact game and what it unlocks for San Antonio 
• Spurs’ supporting cast production from Castle, Vassell, Champagnie and Harper 
• Turnover battle as the swing factor and the clearest Spurs blueprint 
• Knicks’ one monster quarter versus losing the other three quarters 
• Brunson’s scoring versus costly turnovers and defensive targeting concerns 
• OG Anunoby’s efficient night and the “only one ball” problem 
• Mikal Bridges’ low usage and why New York needs more scoring 
• Bench production and shooting variance as a series-level pressure point 
• Game 4 expectations and whether Spurs in six still holds 
please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. And also let me know what your expectations are and predictions for game four. Do you expect the Spurs to win? Do you expect the Knicks to win? And has your prediction changed since game one? I want to know your thoughts.

Transcript

Welcome And Quick Housekeeping

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What's up everybody? It's your favorite show's favorite show Get a Bucket. I'm your host, Train as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Today we're gonna talk about game three of the NBA Finals between the Spurs and the Knicks. But before we do that, please make sure to hit that like and subscribe button. Comment tell anyone who's anyone about the show. I'm trying to get the ratings up a little bit, you know, just a little bit. If you wonder where you heard this before, that's because you've been listening with me Monday through Friday at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. So I greatly appreciate you for

Game 3 Result And Why It Matters

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your support. Now, game three. It went about how I expected, right? Knicks did lose. So the series is now 2-1 favoring the Knicks. We're still in New York, ladies and gentlemen. We're still gonna be at the garden, all right? This was an imperative game for the Spurs to win. They needed this. Because if they go down 3-0, yeah, that's a little tough. And to be clear, they also need to win game four and five for me. But let's talk about game

Spurs Keys: Wembanyama And Ball Security

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three. Because they did a couple things that I wanted to see. First and foremost, we're gonna give some credit and some love to Victor Women Yamas. You know what I'm saying? Give them 32 points, about eight rebounds, six assists, two steals, and a block with only one turnover. That's yo, this was a really good, perfect game for block for Buddy. I'm not gonna lie to you. Pretty spectacular. The rest of the team, like Stefan Castle, you stepped up with 23 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block. Julian Champagne and Devin Bassell both contributed with three threes, fellas. That's what y'all's roles are. Dylan Harper, you weren't overly efficient, but you were out there hooping. And I appreciate your effort with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, no turnovers at all. Ladies and gentlemen, the Spurs, I told y'all, they have to win the turnover battle. And they did. They got eight turnovers to the Knicks 13. That was imperative. Because they went, listen, they've been up a large part of the games one and two. The late game execution is what was hurting them. Yep, they went up early. Yep, the Knicks came back. Both games heard you. It's the late game execution that messed up. Remember game two, Wemby tries to pass the ball to Stefan Castle after Stefan Castle was looking at him for a couple seconds, then get the ball, turns his head, then Wemby passes the ball. Mmm, turnover. Then Jaden Brunson misses one of his two free throws at the end. So y'all still have a chance. And then y'all miss the late game shot. It's a little tough. Like that can happen at any point in time, too. But the turnovers, that's what hurts you the most. But this game, like I said, if you win the turnover battle, you win the game. Darren Fox, I appreciate you for scoring when need be. He only had about 12 points, ladies and gentlemen. And he wasn't the most efficient either. 4'14, 0 or 5 from the three-point line. But the thing that paid it I paid attention the most, eight assists, two turnovers. Again, that's a 4-1 assist to turnover ratio. That means every four assists he gets, he gets one turnover. That's pretty stellar. So the Spurs did their job. And I hear you, right? It was only a four-point game. I get you. There are still some things that they can clean up, but most importantly, ladies and gentlemen, like I said, if they win the turnover battle, the rest of their game is going to transition and carry over pretty smoothly, and it should result in a win.

Knicks Breakdown: One Big Quarter

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Now, let's look at the Knicks. Usually, games one and two, they won multiple quarters, which was specifically two and three, I believe. This game, the Knicks only won one quarter. Now, they dominated in good fashion. I'm talking about they reversed the game score for that, or the quarter score, between the Spurs and the Knicks. So the Spurs in quarter two had 24 points. The Knicks had 42 points. But that's the only quarter that they win. That's the only quarter the Knicks win. And keep in mind, the Spurs actually win the first quarter by 11, third quarter by eight, and the fourth quarter by three. So this game, this yeah, like the Knicks actually had a pretty sizable lead and end up losing it. Again, they again they're at home. That speaks volumes. Now, Jalen Brunson, respectable game, right? 32 points, five rebounds, five assists. He also had five turnovers. That's something to note, too. JB, while having a good scoring game, playmaking, decision making, it was a little tougher with these Spurs and in game three, a little hungrier, right? OG Annobi, listen, you were making Ann Hathaway very proud because she is a big fan of yours and you had a tremendous game. 28 points, very efficient, by the way, too. Kudos. Carl Anthony Towns. Josh Hart. Y'all did your thing. I'll give you credit, right? Kat, we've been used to seeing you get a little more assists, but you came in with three steals, two blocks, and you're going up against Wimby. I can take that. Josh Hart, you doing your thing. Mikhail, I gotta look at you, champ. Because you could uptick it just a little bit more in terms of production. Two points is not going to get the job done at all, especially at home, too. Game two, you performed extremely well. The Knicks need you extremely much. And I get it, OG had 28. Josh Hart has 16. Jalen Brunson had 32. Mikhail, you're going to consistently have to give double-digit score. Because, I mean, respectfully, hell, the Knicks' bench didn't produce but so much. Jordan Clarkson gave 10. Cool. Landry Shaman didn't have the best game. One of seven from three Landry. That's tough. The Knicks have to win multiple quarters. And in doing so, we got to look at players like Mikhail Bridges being able to score a little bit more. Again, the flow of the game, right? OG was hooping, Josh was hooping, Jalen was hooping. And there's only one basketball on the floor, ladies and gentlemen. I get you. Like Mikhail Bridges only gives five field goal attempts. I still need to see a little bit more out of Mikhail, especially given how the pace structures are, especially given how we look at a player like Mikhail Bridges. Mikhail has pretty good potential, pretty good upside. He's a pretty good player. So we need to see him perform a little bit more so. But your team's up 2-1. You could still get the job done. Splitting at home may be good given the fact that y'all won two already on the road. So at least the Knicks are in a good position. Because even if they lose game two or game four, it's a tie game. Like it's a tie series.

Game 4 Matchups And Predictions

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So who should you lean game for? Because on one hand, you could think that the Spurs have figured it out. On the other hand, you could think that the Knicks are gonna start reverting back to coming back in the late game. And this is what I'm realizing. I think Wimby is starting to figure some things out. I think Stefan Castle is starting to figure some things out. I think the Knicks are going to get attacked consistently because Jalen Brunson is gonna keep getting put on defense. Like he's gonna have to keep guarding Stefan Castle. He's gonna keep having to guard Dylan Brooks or running around and trying to stop Devin Bassell or Julian Champagne. And keep in mind he's shorter than those guys, so they really can just get a clean look. Like, I think Jalen Brunson is gonna be targeted continuously. And on the flip side, it's not like you can target one specific person on the Spurs. Like, there's no weakness. Yes, I hear you. De'Aaron Fox is maybe their best case. But I think De'Aaron Fox has a little bit more athleticism. He's a little bit quicker. So when it comes to defense, he can react a little bit better than Jalen Brunson does. Again, ladies and gentlemen, game four. I'm genuinely expecting the Spurs to win. I'm looking at Vic to get maybe 25, let's say nine rebounds, and keep it up with like two blocks. Darren Fox, I need you to get at least six assists, two turnovers, tops. We need Devin Vassel and Julian Champagne to both hit two to three threes. Stefan Castle, if you're efficient and not turning the ball over that much, hey, we know what you bring on the defensive end. And Dylan Harper, same thing as well, too. Like we've seen what a close to perfect game looks like for the Spurs team. We've seen what a close to perfect game looks for the Knicks. And I think comparing both both games, both game plays, I lean the Spurs. And I think the Knicks are gonna come out aggressive again. You're at home. You're gonna want to try to close it out on the. Well, let's think about this. If they close it out on the Spurs home court, that may be a problem. So they may want to try to have this go game six. Because now you have a chance at winning it at the garden. But that's why I say too, I think the Spurs are gonna win game four and potentially game five, too. Because I think they want to have a good chance at minimum it going seven back at their own home court. But seeing the Spurs last night game on Monday, yeah, I do think they're I think they I do think they figure some things out. But we gotta wait to see though, ladies and gentlemen. Because the bench for the Spurs vastly outplayed the Knicks bench. And again, if players like Mikel Bridges are gonna only give you two points, that's gonna be a little problematic. Like I could talk about Kat giving only 11 points, but again, he gave 11 points, eight rebounds, three steals, two blocks. Yes, Mikhail gave us a block, heard you, but still we need to see more production from you, Mikhail Bridges. At least more efficiency. Damn, like one of five, two points. Yeah, that's tough. That is tough, I'm not gonna lie to you. But I mean, y'all got it in you to win game four, go up 3-1. Again, I just expect the Spurs to win game four and tie this thing up 2-2. Now, the thing is, I wonder if this turns out to be like the Miami Heat series versus the Mavs in 0-6. I think the Mavs, what, won the first two games, and then the Heat won the rest of them. I could see that going with this series as well, too. Again, I've been saying Spurs in six, and I haven't quite changed that tune just because of how the games have been played. The Spurs were in it, the Spurs held the advantage the majority of the time, and this game continued to showcase that. They were down and fought back and won. So I'm expecting to see game four. Knicks hit them in the mouth, Spurs climb back, they tie the series up, then they go back home and do some things.

Final Thoughts And Listener Predictions

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But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. So please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. And also let me know what your expectations are and predictions for game four. Do you expect the Spurs to win? Do you expect the Knicks to win? And has your prediction changed since game one? I want to know your thoughts. But y'all already heard your marching orders. But ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that does conclude the end of the episode. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket. I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.